BERLIN: After a 150-year absence, wolves are back in remote parts of eastern Germany.

The animals, protected within the European Union, are believed to have come from the Carpathian Mountains, having made their way to Germany via Poland, Slovakia or the Czech Republic.

The precise number of wolves in Germany is still a mystery but they are known to roam around the Overlausitz region of Saxony, close to the Polish-Czech border.

While their return has generally been welcomed by animal lovers, farmers have become increasingly concerned following a series of attacks on flocks of sheep in recent weeks.

At the end of April, 27 sheep were massacred in one night by wolves near the village of Muehlrose in Saxony state.

Three days later, the wolves pounced again in the same area, killing six more sheep with savage throat bites.

Public concern increased recently when a six-year-old wolf named “Baerbel” made a spectacular escape from its enclosure in Klingenthal in the Vogtland region.—dpa